New flower shop blooms in Brighton

Friday

Oct 12, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 12, 2012 at 12:12 PM

Last December, Bridget Rosenow, of Newton, found herself surrounded by 1,500 flowers in her dining room. It was then that both Bridget and her husband, Keith Rosenow, knew that it was time to move her weekend wedding floral arrangement business out of the house. This past Mother’s Day, the Rosenows opened Centre Pieces Design located at 425 Washington St. in Brighton.

Julianna Flamio

Last December, Bridget Rosenow, of Newton, found herself surrounded by 1,500 flowers in her dining room. It was then that both Bridget and her husband, Keith Rosenow, knew that it was time to move her weekend wedding floral arrangement business out of the house. This past Mother’s Day, the Rosenows opened Centre Pieces Design located at 425 Washington St. in Brighton.

"As fate would have it, we started leasing the shop in March and decided to make it a full-time thing- a second career," Bridget said.

Centre Pieces Design is a full-service shop that not only offers floral arrangements for weddings and parties, but also fresh flowers for funerals, everyday bouquets, plants, gift baskets, novelty gifts and cards.

Bridget, who always had a love for flowers, first got into the business by selling arrangements with Keith out of their car on Mother’s Day in 2008 on Newbury Street. She made floral arrangements at her niece’s wedding, and then generated more clients through word-of-mouth and WeddingWire.com, where she was "Wedding Wire Rated" on the site’s "Brides’ Choice Awards."

"I became a weekend warrior in doing weddings," Bridget, who also maintained a full-time job at the time, said.

Bridget and Keith’s original plan was to open Centre Pieces Design in Newton, until Keith came across the space on Washington Street, formerly the long-standing Minihane’s Flower and Garden Shop. Bridget said Brighton residents have been receptive to the new business.

"We like to leave the doors open," she said. "It’s a wonderful community, and we’re glad that we decided to open in Brighton because the community has really opened up to us and they really want to see us succeed here."

Since opening on Mother’s Day, four years to the date of their first venture into the flowers, business was slow in the summer, but picked up after Labor Day, according to Keith. Bridget’s wedding bookings continue to thrive. She has already prepared floral orders for about 30 weddings and events this year, and has bookings for 2013.

To further introduce locals to their shop, the Rosenows are hosting an open house from Oct. 15 to 20. They plan to have a giveaway each day and give brides who book within that week 20 percent off their floral orders.